As a full-time college student with a part-time job working at a daycare, one can only imagine the stress that comes along with having numerous essays due a week along with other assignments, while also having to take care of twelve 4 year olds, alone. Certainly working with kids tends to be crazy. There are days where no one has their "listening ears" on, days where nobody can keep their hands to themselves, and days where you're just about ready to hand in your "two weeks notice." However, when ignoring those nightmare moments, there are tons of reasons why working with children is an extremely valuable experience.
1. You're reminded to laugh.
We've all heard the saying "kids say the darnest things!" Sure, it's without a doubt true, but it's also the things they do that make you forget about sweating the small stuff. I had a little girl tell me her toes were hurting once. When she took off her shoe, she had fake fingernails glued onto her toenails. I've seen kids "moon" one another. I've had kids tell me their sneakers are what make them run fast. I've heard about their political views and "Garage Obama," and how we should "bring George Washington back from heaven because he was such a nice man." I've had a girl tell me her favorite place in the world is Boston because she loves Boston Kreme donuts.The best is when they get all their pronouns and verb tenses mixed up: "Her been done that to me and I telled her stop but her keeped went!" Poor kid was so serious but can you not laugh?
2. Your inner-child comes out when you least expect it.
It can be tough trying to be an adult when you don't exactly know how to be an adult in the first place. I play with baby dolls and the kitchen set on the daily, have hula hoop competitions with the boys, (yeah, I always win), go on the see-saw in the playground, play soccer on the turf, and color in coloring books. I've learned you can't always be yelling at the kids when all they want to do is play with you. So why not just do that? It's fun...
3. They teach you lessons by telling stories.
After having a rough day at school, the last thing you want to do is listen to a 4 year old blab in your ear about nonsense. Surprisingly enough, their stories are the greatest thing to listen to in the world. One time, I noticed a little girl with bandaids all over her elbows and knees. I asked her what happened and she told me she fell off her bike 40 times. I'm almost 99% sure she was exaggerating the amount of times she fell, but even then I asked her why she kept getting on the bike after she fell so many times. She said to me, "Miss. Mary, if I don't go on the bike then I won't learn how to ride it on the street." So then I said to her, "but you keep falling and you're getting boo-boo's all over your body!" She looked at me with her glowing eyes and said, "I know and they hurt a lot but I have to keep trying and soon my boo-boo's will go away." How true. In order to be successful or move on from something, we might have to fall a thousand times and get scraped up, to eventually be able to heal and be happy.
4. Their innocence is their greatest quality and something you wish you could have.
As we know it, bad things happen every day. School shootings, bomb threats, car-crashes, wars, the list goes on and on. The thing about working with kids is that they don't understand these occurrences. They think someone taking their toy out of their hand is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to them. They "invite" and "un-invite" their classmates to their birthday parties. They think if another child calls them "funny" it's an insult. They scream bloody murder if another child scribbles on a picture they're coloring. They don't know that there are truly bad people out there in the world. They don't understand the pain of heartbreak or losing a loved one. They think the world is such a beautiful, loving place when you're the only one who knows how cruel it could really be.
5. You learn how much love they have to give.
I'll admit, there are days where I just don't feel like being at work. I'm tired, hungry, cranky, and just feeling miserable. But the moment I step foot into the classroom and see the looks on my kiddie's faces, I realize how much their smile or their hugs can completely change your mood. Yeah they're 4 years old and like little people, but I mean, they're babies. They love cuddling and they love telling you all their secrets. They compliment you even when you don't feel good about yourself. They always think you're perfect no matter what flaws you feel like you have. By 6 p.m., I've had over one hundred hugs, 50 lap-sitters, 20 high-fives, and a purse full of pictures they've colored for me.
People always tell me, "I don't know how you do it..." The truth is, I do it because I love to do it. All these little angels are going to be somebody one day, even if their dream is to grow up and "be a fire enginge." (Yeah, I've heard that, too). I love being able to be a part of their lives even for the littlest amount of time. I may not really be changing it much, but they're definitely changing mine.
